Shiv
Nadar is not just the Founder & Chairman of HCL but can be termed
as the pioneer of the Indian IT industry as well as its chief architect.
From a small startup in a one-room tenement to a global technology
enterprise, he has pushed his company efficiently and quickly. This was
achieved mainly due to the fact that they provide cutting-edge
technology at affordable prices.
His belief in quality education has led
him to emphasize on affordable quality education to meritorious
students through his non-profit foundation. Shiv Nadar's belief was "If
you want to empower people, give them the tools. There's enough
entrepreneurship in this country to take care of the rest."
Early Days
Shiv Nadar was born on January 1, 1946, in Moolaipozhi village, Tuticorin district, Tamil Nadu. His parents were Sivasubramaniya Nadar and Vamasundari Devi. He completed his pre-university degree from Madurai American College. He received his engineering degree in Electrical and Electronics from PSG College of Technology. He started his career at Walchand group's Cooper Engineering in Pune in 1967. He relocated to Delhi in 1968 to work as an engineer for Delhi Cloth Mills Ltd (DCM). Nadar has been fondly nicknamed Magnus (Persian for Wizard) by his friends.
Shiv Nadar was born on January 1, 1946, in Moolaipozhi village, Tuticorin district, Tamil Nadu. His parents were Sivasubramaniya Nadar and Vamasundari Devi. He completed his pre-university degree from Madurai American College. He received his engineering degree in Electrical and Electronics from PSG College of Technology. He started his career at Walchand group's Cooper Engineering in Pune in 1967. He relocated to Delhi in 1968 to work as an engineer for Delhi Cloth Mills Ltd (DCM). Nadar has been fondly nicknamed Magnus (Persian for Wizard) by his friends.
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Igniting the Spark
In 1976, he abruptly quit his job at DCM flustering his family and
friends with his decision. He wanted to start out on his own and work
towards his vision. The exit of IBM from India in the late 70s created a
huge vacuum in which he saw a huge opportunity in the field of
computers. In 1976, along with six of his colleagues from DCM, he
initiated a company, Hindustan Computers (HCL) in a one room tenement in
Delhi. They were a group of passionate and committed young men who
believed in the growth of the IT industry. At this time, India had just
250 computers. Their company would manufacture and supply computers and
office products like copiers.
The
company grew rapidly benefiting both from the revolution in the
computer field as well as the expertise of the founders. In 1982, HCL
came out with its own brand of personal computers. It was a huge gamble
that he had taken by quitting a cushy job at DCM. But, the gamble paid
off with of course the dedication and perseverance of the team of
youngsters.
HCL - The Journey
The
growth and evolution of the company can be traced distinctly across
three decades. Its growth has been exceptional - from a startup to
India's top IT company; transition to software services; and into a
global company.
Startup to India's Top IT Company
Shiv
Nadar, along with his partners started with Micro comp to sell
teledigital calculators under the brand "Televista". In 1976, along with
six friends and an initial investment of Rs.1,87,000, he started HCL.
The exit of IBM from India provided Shiv Nadar with a wide market space
for his personal computer. In 1980 he commenced Far East Computers in
Singapore to sell IT hardware. It achieved a breakthrough in imaging
technology, enabling computers to read handwritten tax returns. This
marked his entry into international market. His foresight and perception
can be gauged by his starting NIIT with three others. He could perceive
an immediate need for quality and effective computer education at that
time and wanted to capture the huge potential in IT education. Nadar was
the largest shareholder in NIIT with share holdings till 2003. He
developed Busy Bee, Personal Computer solutions as well as UNIX platform
based solutions in 1984. HCL grew quickly and by 1987, it was ranked
India's no.1 company with revenue of 100 crores.
Transition to Software Services
When
HCL becoming the leader in the Indian IT market, Shiv Nadar wanted to
expand to the global market. In 1989, he set up HCL America, which could
not live up to expectations as the market requirements had been wrongly
estimated. HCL joined with HP to create a joint venture HCLHP Ltd. to
target the local computing market. HCL was in its second decade and with
this venture it could benefit with HP's experience in Outsourced
Research and Development. Shiv Nadar entered a sale agreement with Nokia
and Ericsson in the mid-90s according to which their products would be
circulated in India. The company was gradually expanding and bringing
media of communication under its umbrella. With around 40 subsidiaries
by 1995, Nadar shifted focus from IT hardware to IT services. In 1996,
HCL Consulting was set up to handle IT services and the R&D wing of
HCLHP was merged into it. The resulting company was renamed HCL
Technologies and soon the joint venture with HP was terminated. By 1998,
Nadar's entire businesses were streamlined into five companies - HCL
Technologies, HCL Info systems, HCL Comnet, HCL Perot and NIIT.
Global IT Service Company
In
1999, HCL Technologies was made public. It was the second largest IT
Company. In 2000, it was started losing its ground with the emergence of
Internet. Its competitors had an advantage as they could make the first
nip in the Enterprise application services. Nadar tried to salvage HCL
with acquisitions. In order to target the BPOs and Financial services
market, in 2001, HCL acquired Deutsche Software Limited and Apollo
Contact center from BT. Yet, HCL continued its poor performance till
2005. By 2004, the number of companies came down from 5 to 2 - HCL
Technologies and HCL Info systems.
HCL has been open-minded regarding partnerships and has been able to
benefit and grow from its relations with its partners. It has been
actively innovating and creating a variety of partnership models,
focusing on risk-reward sharing. Some of the major partners have been
Toshiba, Intel, Microsoft, NOKIA, Boeing, IBM and NEC. HCL has been
working with Boeing on its 787 Dream liner Flight Management Systems
program. It also works with 20 of the world's leading aviation
companies. The sustainability program of HCL is based on 4 R's -
Responsible Business, Redefine Workplace, Renew Eco System and Repay
Society. HCL is a signatory of UN Global Compact and the senior
management is active in the World Economic Forum. This enables them to
learn and adopt new practices and contribute to public policy dialogue.
Shiv
Nadar has followed his distinct style of management - delegation and
decentralization. This has helped each of the various branches and work
centres to function independently. The company has always followed the
"Employees First" policy where employees are not just value creators but
agents of change. Individual efforts are amalgamated to focus on
positive social activism. He has guided HCL into the "Billion Dollar
Club". Shiv Nadar comes across as a humble and grounded person who
acknowledges all those who helped him and his company to grow. He is
keen to ensure that his associates are secure financially. He is married
to Kiran and has a daughter Roshni. Shiv Nadar is an active member of
Executive Board of the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad. Shiv
Nadar handed over the mantle of CEO to Vineet Nayar in 2007. Nadar
retains the Chairmanship of HCL Technologies and is still the largest
shareholder. Roshni Nadar is CEO of HCL Corporation, the investment
company.
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The Philanthropic Industrialist
Shiv
Nadar believed in the power of a sound education. This was the
inspiration behind the Shiv Nadar Foundation as he was passionate about
providing quality education to deserving students. He believed that
this would empower them to join the workforce with requisite skills and
in their chosen area. The foundation follows the concept of "Creative
Philanthropy" which empowers individuals for social change through
transformational education. The Foundation empowers deserving students
with limited means socially, physically and intellectually, which will
enable them to uplift their communities. Their initiatives include:
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Quotes
"Institution-building is all what I've done. You have to have the
courage to think this is what it should be 10 years later. I want the
students to be extremely competitive in every field of endeavor and have
high self-esteem. Self-esteem is a very big thing because where these
students come from, it's a casualty. You've got to build it up from
scratch."
"You have to have predictability in business, and it's not the simplest
thing in the world. Beyond a certain point, the scalability of people
will give way. Then some contracting form or something else will come
about. Transformation is beckoning, and it is right around the corner."
"India will collapse if we have only engineers and doctors. Companies
don't have people to communicate. If you focus on placements alone, you
will get low quality people. When do we create more Shiv Nadars? There
is also a need for well-round education: we need to provide training
skills and this is what Shiv Nadar University does."
Not
only has Shiv Nadar created a global company, he has also picked a
worthy successor to sustain it. His philanthropy is realistic in the
sense that he has focused on two areas -- education and health which are
very vital to develop any economy.
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